Neapolitan Ice Cream
by imagination-running
Summary: Percabeth fluff piece. At seven months pregnant, all Annabeth wants is Neapolitan ice cream, and all their freezer has to offer is orange sherbet. One-shot.


"Neapolitan Ice Cream"

It was two in the morning, and for the life of her, Annabeth could not understand why baby Jackson had suddenly decided he needed Neapolitan ice cream right then. But apparently he did because she found herself with her bathrobe tied above her basketball-sized belly staring into the freezer at the box of orange sherbert, nearly in tears because her craving for Neapolitan was so strong she could nearly taste it, and it wasn't there. Gods how she hated these hormones. For the past seven months, she had been nothing except a blubbering mess of weird cravings, haywire emotions, and aches and pains in places she didn't even know could hurt, which was saying something considering her status as a demigod. She was pretty sure that Percy had decided she was combustible and was afraid to even look at her the wrong way, and if that were true, she honestly couldn't blame him. Heck, she wouldn't blame him if he packed up and moved back in with Sally and Paul until this baby made his grand debut. She couldn't stand herself most days. But none of that solved the problem of the Neapolitan ice cream.

She huffed, swung the freezer door shut, and wiped her eyes (because yes, they were actually watering a bit at the thought of no ice cream). The very pregnant, hormonal part of her insisted that she march down the hallway and into the bedroom, wake Percy, and demand that he go in search of the triple-flavored treat. The loving wife part knew that Percy had had a long, hard day and wasn't sleeping well as it was lately and could use all the rest he could get. She walked into the living room and slumped onto the couch. She would have to talk herself through this craving and hormone-fueled moment before she would be able to get back to sleep. Even her logic was barely enough to combat this pregnancy's irrational tendencies.

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, breathing slowly, trying to get her bearings before she literally had a melt-down over ice cream in the middle of the night. (Seriously, whatever god or goddess in charge of humans having hormones deserved a visit from her and her drakon-bone sword as soon as possible.) She was concentrating so hard on convincing herself that ice cream could wait until daylight, that she didn't hear Percy pad into the room. She opened her eyes, a bit startled, when he sat down beside her.

He gently grabbed her hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She squeezed his hand. "I just didn't hear you. Nothing to worry about."

He yawned and rubbed his face with his free hand. His hair was sticking up in all directions, and there were dark circles under his eyes from staying up nights worrying about protecting the coming baby from monsters and regular new parent fears. Not to mention, he had been having to work extra the past couple of weeks to learn his new responsibilities at work since getting promoted. If that wasn't enough, he had had a monster run-in on his way home from work and had gotten hard conk to the head and a twisted wrist in the fight.

"You should be asleep, Percy."

"I could say the same to you. Why are you awake, anyway? Everything okay?"

Annabeth laughed and smoothed the worry lines on his forehead. "I'm fine, Percy. I just had to go pee - again - and then the baby decided he wants ice cream, but we don't have the right flavor. I was just sitting here for a minute before coming back to bed."

Percy's eyes sparkled a bit. "Wrong flavor of ice cream, huh. Do I need to go on a supermarket run?"

"Seaweed brain, it's two in the morning. The only place you need to go is bed. Ice cream can wait."

Percy smirked. "You said something similar two weeks ago, but I distinctly remember finding myself in a McDonald's drive-thru ordering French fries in the wee hours of the morning."

She hit his chest. "If you start getting smart with me, I will send you out for my ice cream."

Percy smiled broadly, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulled her close, and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Don't I know it, Wise Girl. So, should we head back to bed or am I headed to the store?"

Annabeth turned to look at him. His eyes were twinkling, but she could see the genuine care shining through. He wouldn't hesitate to go buy her ice cream if she asked, but she could also see just how tired he was. Even now, he was trying to not yawn and was blinking more often than necessary in an attempt to stay awake. She wouldn't make him leave their little home in the middle of a January night just to buy her ice cream.

She stood, pulled him up with her, and kissed him. "Come, sleepy head. It's time for bed."

Percy pulled her to him and buried his face in her hair. "Mmm...Ice cream breakfast date, then."

Annabeth wrapped her arms around his torso, her head resting on his chest. "Neapolitian with real strawberries."

Percy pulled back just a bit and kissed her forehead. "Whatever you want, Mrs. Jackson," he mumbled, clearly getting sleepier by the minute.

Annabeth smiled at him and started down the hallway, tugging him along behind her. "Right now, Mr. Jackson, I want sleep."

"Sleep is a beautiful thing," he agreed as they entered the bedroom.

Annabeth removed her bath robe and climbed into bed, rolling onto her left side, squirming for a minute trying to find a comfortable position. Percy had already settled onto his right side watching her through half-lidded eyes with a soft smile on his face. Once she was still, he reached out and cupped her cheek. "Love you, beautiful." His thumb stroked her cheekbone gently, his eyes closing and breathing evening out.

Annabeth's own eyes felt heavy. She pulled his hand down and kissed his palm. "I love you, too, Percy," she whispered to her sleeping husband. Within in moments, Annabeth had drifted off as well.

When Annabeth awoke the following morning, it was already a little after nine o'clock. She gasped when she spied the time before remembering it was a Saturday, and she didn't have to be at work that day. The space beside her on the bed was empty and cold, and the bathroom door was open revealing no one inside. She stretched, wondering how long Percy had been awake when the door opened and in stepped the smiling son of Poseidon himself carrying a tray with a tub of Neapolitan ice cream, banana split fixings, spoons, and bowls.

And as he set the tray down at the foot of the bed in order to climb in the bed, greet her, and kiss her, she couldn't help but think that she had somehow landed the best husband of them all.

* * *

A/N: After my last story where I killed Percy and later killed Annabeth, too, I felt that I owed you some happy, fluffy Percabeth, so here you are. I imagine these two being about 25 years old in this story. I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. Just borrowed our precious Percabeth for a bit.


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